Henry R. Carstens
president and publisher
carstens@carstens-publications.com
Frank Fanelli editor
Jim Wiggin associate editor Maureen Frazer production editor
John A. Earley vice-president and director of advertising
Pieter W. Uptegrove advertising manager
George Riley director of marketing
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Tammy Havens advertising production
Phyllis M. Carstens assistant to the publisher
Otto Vondrak webmaster
Chris Lane book acquisitions manager
Lynn Good, Dot Schmidt customer service
Cathy Streeter dealer service
FLYING MODELS (ISSN 0015-4849) Incorporating FLYING ACES and R/C Model Boating, is published monthly by Carstens Publications, Inc., 108 Phil Hardin Road, Fredon Township, Newton, New Jersey 07860. Phone: 973-383-3355. FAX: 973-383-4064. Visit our web site at
www.flying-models.com, or e-mail us at:
carstens@carstens-publications.com. Henry R. Car- stens, President; John A. Earley, Vice President, Phyl- lis Carstens, Secretary / Treasurer. Periodicals Postage paid at Newton, NJ 07860 and additional mailing offices.
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Contact Flying Modelsat (973) 383-3355 Voice, (973) 383-4064 FAX, or e-mail us at
frankf@flying-models.com
ost of the time, when I start off by mentioning a particular per- son, the news is sad. We’ve been losing so many of the giants and
pioneers of the hobby in recent years so it comes as a very welcome task to celebrate milestones for two ofFM’s group of wonder- ful contributors. The first time I met Don Belfort was at the
old KRC fly-in. It was the first major electric event in the U.S., perhaps the world. Don was an ardent proponent of electric flight and he came ready to fly all sorts of things. Anyone that knows Don knows that he is
one of the most affable and helpful people around. And he is also a very experienced and accomplished modeler, something that his modesty always seems to cover up. So those of you with a sharp eye may have noticed in last month’s issue an ad from Miller Coors. It congratulated Don on his re- tirement after 30 years service in the com- pany. That was nice of them but Don defi- nitely deserved it for the faithful and informative contributions he’s provided since he started with FMin 1997. And to add to the celebration there was
very recent news that Jim Newman, who au- thored and illustrated the great “View From Here” column, was just elected to the AMA Hall of Fame. That’s an honor that was eas- ily a no-brainer. He’s contributed in so many different
ways to the hobby industry for decades after a stint with the RAF, and later what became British Aerospace. If the term Renaissance man could fit anyone to a “T”, it’s Jim. He’s author, pilot, artist, designer, engineer, and nice guy all around. Almost on a daily basis, he educates me about the real stories behind some storied aircraft. It’s absolutely fasci- nating stuff that easily qualifies him as an aeronautical font of knowledge. To both Don and Jim I say more than
thank you for what you’ve shared with us for many years. And to put my six years of Latin and Greek to some good use let me toast them with an ancient Latin saying: Ad mul- tos annos! So, now let me get to introducing you to
our latest issue. A good place to start is with someone it’s a pleasure to welcome back, Laddie Mikulasko. You’ll never see an unin- teresting plane come from his drafting board and his latest contribution toFM’s 1400+ li- brary of plans is definitely unique. It’s the BICh-7A. Who? What? Well, take a quick peek at
the opposite page and you’ll see that it’s es- sentially a scale model of a flying wing. And it’s not something concocted recently. Nope, it was the brainchild of Boris Ivanovich Cheranovskij way back in 1922. Talk about ahead of its time. However Laddie found it, I don’t know but
the parabolic planform of the plane will of- fer a different kind of building experience. Not especially difficult, it will reward you with a good stable flying 3-channel electric R/C ship.
And in sort of the same vein of unique, but decidedly non-challenging is Chuck Felton’s Dalotel, built of his favorite material, card- board. He has a knack of finding scale sub- jects that lend themselves well to this mate- rial and result in great looking models. The Dalotel isn’t one of those well-known aerobatic ships but it did find favor years ago with R/C pilots as a sport pattern ship. I reviewed one that was produced by Zim- babwe Model Products and it was decidedly limber and agile. Chuck’s Dalotel, though, is more for sedate maneuvers in the circle. Turning to more of an old time flavor, we
have Jerry Smith’s review of Mountain Models’ Bogie 72. For Jerry, this review was a natural fit since he cut his teeth on these sort of models. The Bogie design pays homage to the venerable Playboy, but it in- corporates all the modern techniques of laser cutting. Jerry, who spent plenty of time in his modelling career cutting balsa parts from printwood or die-cut sheets, rel- ishes the great fit and easy building afford- ed by this modern technology. While he enjoys the nostalgia of flying the
plane, he decidedly doesn’t miss the old fash- ioned way of kit parts. And he says the ac- curacy and interlocking self-jigging parts al- most make the full-size plans unnecessary. Though of a later generation of model de-
sign, the Rascal has certainly and deserved- ly lived on. Sig Manufacturing was respon- sible for resurrecting the design a number of years ago in various sizes and has added a new electric R/C version of the 1950s freeflight design. Pete Serafini, who built and flew a Rascal
several years ago, seemed a good choice to try this new one on for size. It has lost none of its relaxed flying qualities and more so, as he says, it comes as a pretty complete pack- age, with motor and ESC included. When a model flies outa sight, it’s a bit- tersweet moment. On the one hand it’s a tes- tament to the flying ability of the plane and its trim, but on the other.... Well I guess you know what I mean. Dave Mitchell faced that moment of truth
with his Easy Built Models’ Mr Smoothie over a year ago. That’s when he was sup- posed to give us a review of the model. Hung decided he wanted the model for him- self and so Dave lost it to the thermals. No review. That didn’t deter Dave. It only postponed
the review until now after Dave built an- other. Seems reasonable if the first flew so well, and as Dave relates, this Easy Built kit just about guarantees the same success he enjoyed with both models. To round things up it’s time to welcome
back Dave Garwood once again. Dave is an ardent glider guy and it’s been more than many times that he’s tried to get me to go on one of his jaunts. One of his favorite places, a hotbed of slope soaring, is the Midwest Slope Challenge in Kansas. He had a great time and brought loads of pictures for us. –FRANK FANELLI
SEPTEMBER 2012
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